


Life is unfair

by Petra



Category: DCU (Catwoman & Robin)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-22
Updated: 2007-02-22
Packaged: 2017-10-11 18:44:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/115707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petra/pseuds/Petra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He thinks just because he's mean and scary, everybody should jump when he says 'Boo.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life is unfair

**Author's Note:**

> For [](http://glossing.livejournal.com/profile)[**glossing**](http://glossing.livejournal.com/), at [](http://katarik.livejournal.com/profile)[**katarik**](http://katarik.livejournal.com/)'s prompting. Beta read by [](http://brown-betty.livejournal.com/profile)[**brown_betty**](http://brown-betty.livejournal.com/).

  
Batman may want Steph off the streets as the Spoiler, but Batman doesn't own Gotham. He can't keep her locked at home -- he's not her dad.

And her dad, for his part, is locked away in Blackgate, where he's due to stay for a good long time.

If she talks to Robin, Batman's going to know about it, she's sure of that, but she's been on the streets without him knowing before, too.

All it takes is a little less eggplant and a little more black, and she's good to go.

"Stupid men," she says under her breath while she hitches a ride on a crosstown bus, up in the free seats on the top. "They can't stop me. Can't tell me what to do." At the fourth stop, she swings up onto a roof and looks around -- no bat-ears, no disapproving Robin glare. "It's my city, too."

She gets less sulky and more angry as she goes, nowhere in particular, except for how she's avoiding places she's met Robin before. "And they can't stop me," she says, from the top of a relatively low building.

A voice behind her laughs, and she turns around quickly. "I've said that before," a woman -- with cat ears -- Catwoman says, smiling at her. "I wasn't always right -- immediately -- but in the long run, well. So, who grounded you?"

Steph only vaguely knows what Catwoman's deal even is, from newspapers and her dad's normal comment, "Now there's a woman," whenever she did anything and got away with it. She's not one of the good guys, but she's still operating in Gotham.

So, not one of the super-bad guys, either. Maybe even when she's allowed to talk to the Bat-club again, they won't drum her out for talking to Catwoman, once. "Batman," she says, putting her hands on her hips. "But he's not the boss of me."

Catwoman chuckles. "No, you don't look like Robin to me."

Steph wrinkles her nose. "Not even close, but you think that stops him?" She folds her arms. "He thinks just because he's mean and scary, everybody should jump when he says 'Boo.'"

"He wishes we all would," Catwoman says, walking a little closer. Her bodysuit looks pretty well armored, especially compared to Steph's plain old sweats. "But hardly anyone does -- certainly not me."

"Yeah," Steph says, and sighs. "But if he catches me, I'll be in big trouble."

"You seem to be doing all right for yourself so far." Catwoman walks around her, checking out her gear. "No batarangs to the back of the head. No tranq darts. You must be pretty fast."

"And quiet," Steph says, and grins a little. "I'm --" But she's not the Spoiler, not tonight. "I've been out here for a while without him catching me."

Catwoman tilts her head to one side and smiles. "Have you, now. That's an endorsement in itself."

Steph grins back at her. "And I know a lot of their normal routes. Well, Robin's, anyway." Assuming he doesn't shift them all around when he knows she's going to hang with him, which he could, but it sure sounds better without mentioning that.

"Insider knowledge, stealthiness --" Catwoman shakes her head. "I don't know why you haven't made your own costume yet, with that kind of talent."

Steph bites her lip. "I, um. It just didn't work out."

"I know how that goes. Do you have any idea how many uniforms I've gone through before I managed to get it down to this?" Catwoman does a little turn, showing off her suit. "But -- costumes don't matter so much, hon." She glances up at the sky -- no signal, yet -- and says, more softly, "What you really need is an ally."

Maybe Catwoman's not super evil, but she's not -- really -- a good guy. Steph narrows her eyes. "Yeah?"

"And it just so happens that I'm looking for a lookout. Someone quick -- subtle -- used to how Bats works." Catwoman smiles at her. "Know anybody like that?"

"Uh, I -- I don't really want to break the law." Steph scratches the back of her head. "At all."

Catwoman gets up in her face for a second and Steph wishes she had the cowl. She studies Steph quick and fast, then backs off. "You won't be. Not laws that matter. There's a cosmetic company -- Belleza Cotidiana -- that's been doing some testing on animals -- rabbits, cats, even monkeys."

Steph frowns. "I thought that was illegal."

"It is." Catwoman shrugs. "You think that stops them? It's a lot easier for them to test the scary stuff on defenseless animals than it is to find people to test it on."

"So -- what are you going to do about it?" Steph asks.

"Free the abused animals. I have a truck driver all set to take them upstate. All I need is for someone to cover my back for the B&E -- breaking and entering -- and we'll be set." Catwoman offers Steph her hand. "You in?"

Steph has known the words "aiding and abetting" since she thought they had something to do with beds, but she takes Catwoman's hand, anyway. If Batman doesn't want her, at least somebody does. "You got it."

Catwoman gives her hand a little squeeze. "Excellent. Now -- we've got to get over to their HQ by one-fifteen."

Steph thinks about the downtown, about the buses, and calculates. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"Except I've got one more thing to coordinate." Catwoman waves a hand. "You know these last-minute problems. Meet me there."

"You've got it," Steph says, and she watches Catwoman leap off the building with way more grace than Steph has ever managed.

Someday, if she keeps working on it, she'll fly like that. Maybe.

She gets to the building at one o'clock sharp and scouts around, checking all the angles and making sure there are no bats in any of the shadows. The roofline of the place is crazy, with a bunch of different levels, like they weren't sure how tall to make the place and everybody got his own answer.

This time, she manages to sneak up on Catwoman, who almost knocks her out with a kick before she recognizes Steph. At least she starts laughing when she gets it. "Damn, kid. I'm glad you're on our side."

Steph grins -- it's nice to have a side to be on, even if she's not totally sure she's going to stay there. "Didn't mean to freak you out so bad."

"It's not you so much as you-know-who." Catwoman checks the sky again. "We're going to get started." She hands Steph a walkie-talkie and turns it on. "Keep your eyes open, and if you hear anything -- or see anything -- holler, okay?"

"Got it." Steph checks the buttons and tries talking. She can't hear her, "Testing, one, two," but Catwoman nods.

"Great. Hit the roofs." She drops off the side of the building, and Steph heads up to the next level.

She can't tell how far they're getting into the building or anything, and all she feels like she's doing is pacing rooftops for a while. Back and forth, up one level, down three, like some of the wacko drawings on the wall in the math room with infinite stairs. No Batsignal, no nothing.

She watches the clouds go by for a little while, scans the roof again, and wishes Robin were there, just so she'd have somebody to talk to. Maybe if she keeps hitting the roofs as not-Spoiler, she'll bring a yo-yo or some damn thing so she's got something to do when she's not at home.

Not fighting crime is really boring.

Steph pauses in the shadows and yawns.

Batman puts his hand on her shoulder and she yelps, then hits the talk button on the radio. "I thought I told you to go home," he says, and she can tell he is super pissed off at her by exactly how not pissed off he sounds.

"Yeah, well -- I --" Steph shrugs his hand off -- or tries. It doesn't go anywhere. "I got bored, okay? And anyway, you guys need as much help as you can get out here."

"You're only endangering yourself," Batman growls at her. He holds out his other hand. "Give me the radio."

"What, this?" If Catwoman hasn't heard all this stuff, she's in deep kitty litter. "I just --"

Batman doesn't even say, "Now." He doesn't have to.

Steph sighs and hands him the radio. "Fine."

He checks the frequency and then gives her the creepiest glower anybody can give somebody who can't see their eyes. "Go home immediately, and do not, under any circumstances, do this again."

There's a place for rebellion, and Steph is darn well not giving up on this, but if he gets any angrier, he might -- do something. Scarier. And she might possibly wet herself.

"You got it," she says, and books it for home, off the roof and headed for the last bus to the 'burbs, as fast as she can go. When she gets her ride, she looks back at the skyline and says, "Sorry, Catwoman." By then, it's probably way too late, but -- Catwoman knows Batman from way back.

She'll understand the problem.


End file.
